An army first aider who was present during the training exercise which cost the life of Gunner Matthew Psaila at Chadwick Lakes last February, told a court today that the soldiers were not wearing life rings in the water and there were no life jackets in the AFM stores.
Gunner Johann Cachia said he had been in the AFM since 2003 and followed various first aid courses.
He said that at the time of the incident, the group of soldiers were in the water in a small tunnel and he was standing on top. Nobody had told him how deep the water was.
Gnr Cachia said that when Gunner Psaila was noticed to be missing, he jumped into the water and found it to be extremely cold, to the extent that it felt like his heart would stop.
He moved into the tunnel and about two to three metres in, he felt something by his feet. He went under and pulled up Gunner Psaila.
Gunner Cachia said he was a good swimmer and swam in winter and summer, but he still felt the water to be very cold and had to make an extra effort to pull Gunner Psaila.
Psaila and another soldier who had also encountered difficulties were placed in sleeping bags to avoid hypothermia.
Gunner Cachiasaid all available safety equipment had been taken with them to the exercise but there were no life jackets in the stores, only a few life rings.
Gunner Patrick Borg, who had been in Gnr Psaila's section, said he had trained in Italy and experienced colder water than at Chadwick lakes. He said nobody was wearing life rings during the exercise because they hindered movement.
Problem areas had been noted before the exercise and the soldiers had been warned that there could be places where they would not be able to cope with and would have to swim.
The soldiers moved in the water clutching a rope. One of them said he was getting tired and was immediately pulled up.
At one point, Gunner Borg said, he saw a commotion and went over to help. A headcount was made and Gunner Psaila was missing. They started shouting Psaila,Psaila, and a search was launched.
Lawyer Manuel Mallia, appearing parte civile for Gunner Psaila's family, asked what shoes the soldiers were wearing when they were in the water. Gunner Borg said he did not verify since there was little difference between the AFM issue and what the soldiers bought privately.
Replying to further questions, he said the AFM issue shoes were made of leather and water which went into them stayed there,while in the case of the other shoes the water drained out.